A Delhi court has restored the facility of two weekly e-mulakats (video meetings) for activist Umar Khalid, arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in the larger conspiracy case relating to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Court allowed Khalid’s application seeking restoration of the second weekly video meeting, which had been reduced to one e-mulakat per week by prison authorities from May 2026. The court held that there was no material to justify curtailing the facility, particularly when the accused had maintained good conduct throughout his incarceration and had not committed any breach of prison regulations.
Khalid has remained in judicial custody since September 2020 in the larger conspiracy case arising out of FIR No. 59/2020 registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and UAPA. The prosecution alleges that he was part of a larger criminal conspiracy behind the communal violence that erupted in North-East Delhi in February 2020 during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
According to the prosecution, the conspiracy culminated in widespread violence on February 22, 23 and 24, 2020, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 people, injuries to hundreds of civilians and police personnel, including an Intelligence Bureau officer and a senior police official, besides extensive damage to public and private property.
Appearing for Khalid, his counsel submitted that he had consistently been permitted two supervised e-mulakats every week since the beginning of his judicial custody and that the facility was abruptly reduced to one weekly video call in May 2026 without assigning any reason. It was argued that the reduction was arbitrary as Khalid had never violated any provision of the Delhi Prisons Rules, 2018.
The jail authorities opposed the application, contending that the applicable prison rules ordinarily permit only one e-mulakat per week and that the earlier practice of allowing two video meetings had been discontinued. The Delhi Police also opposed the plea by raising security concerns regarding more frequent communication from prison.
After considering the rival submissions, the court noted that Khalid had been availing two weekly e-mulakats for the last six years without any violation of prison discipline. It further observed that the supervised nature of the video meetings adequately addressed the security concerns raised by the prosecution while also serving humanitarian considerations by enabling communication with his mother and other family members. Accordingly, the court directed the prison authorities to permit Khalid to have two e-mulakats every week with his family.
The order comes shortly after the same trial court dismissed fresh regular bail applications filed by Umar Khalid and co-accused Sharjeel Imam, holding that the applications were not maintainable in view of the Supreme Court’s order dated January 5, 2026, which governed their liberty to seek bail afresh. The trial court had observed that it was bound by the apex court’s decision and could not entertain fresh bail pleas unless the conditions laid down by the Supreme Court were fulfilled.
More recently, the Delhi High Court had granted Khalid three days’ interim bail on humanitarian grounds to enable him to meet his mother, who was scheduled to undergo surgery, and attend the Chehlum ceremony of his deceased uncle. While granting limited interim relief instead of the 15 days sought, the High Court balanced Khalid’s personal circumstances with the prosecution’s objections arising from the serious allegations under the UAPA.
The larger conspiracy trial remains pending before the trial court, with arguments on charge still continuing. Besides Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, several other accused, including former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar, Natasha Narwal and others, are facing prosecution in connection with the alleged conspiracy. All the accused have denied the allegations.
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